Tag Archives: baby eagles

Baby Eagles welcomed by their parents; My Pet Eagles!

CLICK HERE to read my blog about how I fell in love with “My Pet Eagles and their baby eagles!” I am not the specialist. I am using my blogs to bring more attention to these magnificent birds by sharing my affection them with you. I cannot provide daily updates. My goal is for you to start following these birds yourself.

Below is the story of Mr. President (Dad/Mr. P) and The First Lady’s (Mom/TFL) baby eagles; hatched during their 2017 mating season. (NOTE: All pictures and video content is copyrighted material belonging to the American Eagle Foundation (AEF).

Today was April 5th. Both babies are almost a week old. They are getting used to a routine. They know mom from dad. They know each other well enough to compete for food. This picture was snapped by AEF at night. Here you can tell the difference between each parent. Daddy is in the background with the broad face and jagged neckline; when the two stand together, daddy is a tad bit smaller than mom. Mom is in the front. Her neckline is tailored and she has an overlay that gives her that vicious look. No wander he chose to mate with her. She is beautiful.

Tuesday night, March 28, 2017, baby eagle a.k.a. DC4 begin to PIP its egg shell. The rest of the night, it pipped, pipped, and pipped until it cracked through and hatched. This baby eagle kept its mother up all night checking to make sure it made a safe arrival during the 12-hour hatching period.

DC4 baby eagle cracks through its egg shell.

Baby Eagle (DC4) picks through its egg all night; hatches through at 7:21am 29Mar17

Hello DC4. We welcome our newest baby eagle. Fresh out of its egg. Face had not formed.

At 7:21am, Wednesday, March 29th, baby eagle (DC4) completely hatched. It looked like a grey cotton ball with a tiny prick of a beak with no mouth or eyes. We could hear chirping but we could not see its mouth until around 9am when baby eagle had a tiny face seen here laying in the sun on its unhatched sibling’s egg.

Hours after it hatched, baby eagle (DC4) rests on the unhatched egg of its sibling.

Mr. P will keep food in this nest until the baby eagles leave the nest.

As promised, I would post my next blog when the eggs of their 2017 mating season hatched. Well, it took 36 days for the first egg (DC4) that was laid on February 19th to hatch. The second eaglet will be called DC5 was laid on February 23rd; hatched March 30th.

If you are interested in learning more about the processes for how these two eagles incubated and cared for their two eggs, Click Here.

The purpose of this blog is to highlight the major events associated with My Pet Eagles and their baby eagles laid and hatched during the 2017 Mating Season.

Did you know that this pair got married and nestled in the DC Arboretum in 2014; they were named Mr. President and The First Lady. In 2015 this pair had their first baby eagle (DC1), and in 2016, when I met the couple, they had two baby eagles, DC2 and DC3 – that were later named Freedom and Liberty.

Did you know that Bald Eagles lived upwards of 25 years?

Did you know that Bald Eagles mate for life?

Did you know that the married couple will mate during the same time every year?

Did you know that the mother and father eagles will work together to feed, incubate, nurture, discipline, and keep the nest?

Did you know that an adult Bald Eagle have 7000+ waterproof feathers? They use the chest part of their bodies to incubate eggs and keep their babies warm; those 7000 feathers come in handy to protect their bodies in inclement weather. when they spread their wings, these feathers cover the nesting bowl.

Did you know that the mated pair of Bald Eagles are affectionate and have sex often?

Watch this video by YouTube’s CherylNV. Videoed in January, 2017 after the nest for this year’s mating season was secured and readied for nesting, this video shows how the pair prepared the nest for this year’s mating season – even testing it for heavy landing.

Did you know that with the exception of feathers, nothing is lost. The entire animal or fish is eaten.

It is also my goal to drive traffic to My Pet Eagle’s web site. I will update this blog with pictures and videos that show how these two cute baby eagles grow up in the nest together.

Below are YouTube videos of the hatching of the first baby eagle a.k.a. DC4. Each video shows a different angle of the hatching so that you can see what the baby eagle and mother eagle is doing during the hatch period (March 28 & 29, 2017).

Now that parents are certain that by this time tomorrow, mom and daddy eagle discuss care taking, hunting, and feeding shifts.

Baby Eagles listens and learns their parents leadership.

TFL feeds DC4 while DC5 is hatching. Baby eagles are doing fine.

As vicious as this predator hunter is, look at how gently he holds his tiny young baby eagle that is barely 24-hours old. The love these parents show each other is an example for all humans. The sensitive nature by which they are able to raise their babies should be the blueprint for every parent. In 2016, I was awe struck at how these parents provided for and disciplined their two baby eagles DC2 Liberty and DC3 Freedom. I know what to expect this year with this family. I understand why the Bald Eagle is America’s Iconic bird. – AMAZING!

DC5 hatched March 30th. It looks like it has no fur. But its face is completely formed. (Copyright AEF)

Unlike its sibling, DC5 hatched with both a formed face and body. This baby eagle appears to be puny; but somethings tells me that it will grow up to become a strong and powerful Bald Eagle. (Copyright AEF)

What a different a few days make. DC4 is the baby eagle being fed and DC5 is the baby eagle next to it that is less than 2 days old. (Copyright AEF)

You can still tell the siblings apart. DC4 is the baby eagle with its back to us and DC5 is facing us. They are learning each other. (Copyright AEF)

Daddy stays in the nest to keep the baby eagles warm during a chilly spring rain. The nest is a mess. It is loaded with plenty of fish and a duck. (Copyright AEF)

Mr. P brings home fish and game meal that he catches. Look at this nest! The baby eagles are 3 and 2 days old. Its March 31st. It pouring down rain. There’s two kinds of fish. Not only does he kill the duck, but he plucks the feathers before he brings it into the nest. from now until the two baby eagle ‘Fledges’ and flies away to start a life on their own, which will be around mid-July; these two will be fed by their parents. (Copyright AEF)

This is the awesome view this mated Bald Eagle pair and their baby eagles have of their surroundings in the Arboretum.

What a different a few days make. DC4 is the baby eagle being fed and DC5 is the baby eagle next to it that is less than 2 days old. (Copyright AEF)

You can still tell the siblings apart. DC4 is the baby eagle with its back to us and DC5 is facing us. They are learning each other. (Copyright AEF)

The rain has passed. Almost all the food have been consumed. The two baby eagles are underneath the daddy. Mom is resting. They are probably discussing hunting and shifts. (Copyright AEF)

Today was April 5th. Both babies are almost a week old. They are getting used to a routine. They know mom from dad. They know each other well enough to compete for food. This picture was snapped by AEF at night. Here you can tell the difference between each parent. Daddy is in the background with the broad face and jagged neckline; when the two stand together, daddy is a tad bit smaller than mom. Mom is in the front. Her neckline is tailored and she has an overlay that gives her that vicious look. No wander he chose to mate with her. She is beautiful.

Protecting his babies, daddy eagle is sleeping in one of his many sleeping positions during a rainy spring night. (Copyright AEF)

From this point onward, both parents will rotate incubating their baby eagles, they will both hunt and make sure food is available for round the clock feedings until both baby eagles permanently leave this nest, which will be sometime this July.

Both parents will eat solid meat from the food they provide for the nest. The soft or more fluid innards of the animal or fish caught for food is fed to the baby eagles until they are able to eat solids just like their parents. These birds get their water from the moisture in the food they eat.

The parents will protect their baby eagles every day and night from weather, insects, other predators, and each other. These birds are hunters, they are vicious, they are predators, their parents will discipline and keep them from being competitive against each other for attention and food.

These parents will administer a healthy dose of discipline when their baby eagles make any attempt to overthrow their authority.

I will not be able to post a blog every day. I invite you to engage in and participate in watching this pair raise their two babies. Click Here and Bookmark the website for the DCEAGLECAM The CAM is on 24-hours a day. At night, it uses infrared to help us see clearly; however, there is no light to disturb the family. We hear the environmental noises around the nest and we hear the sounds these eagles make. We learn how they call each other. How they discipline their baby eagles becomes moments that you want to share with people you know.

I recommend you share this information with people that you know that have children, with teachers that teach animal behaviors, and to the sick and shut in that need something positive to look forward to in their lives.

Because there is too much day to day activity to monitor, I am not able to post daily blogs. My goal is to share information about the virtual experience I have with My Pets.

Going forward, I will provide updates for major events or activities involving this family.

Please sign up for educational chats. Please donate and support the American Eagle Foundation. These Eagles start their day at day break and they go until they bed down for the night; generally around 10:30pm EST.

Special Note: The baby eagles are known as DC4 and DC5 because of the numerical order in which they were born. Last year 2016 was the first year that the American Eagle Foundation used an Eaglet Naming Contest that resulted in naming DC2 and DC3 Liberty and Freedom. This year a naming contest has already started. NOTE: Thank all that participated the Naming Contest for this pair of eaglets. The first round of naming DC4 & DC5 has now ended. The top five name pairs will be released for a final vote to the public on April 24. I will post an update then.

All pictures and videos are Copyrighted Material of The American Eagle Foundation

Thanks to @dceaglecam, @eaglesdotorg, all of the many sponsors and government agencies, and to all of the volunteers who spend countless hours monitoring the CAM 24-hours a day, conducting the education chat sessions, and for they do to make our experience with these mated Bald Eagles and their precious baby eagles memorable and enjoyable.

DC’s Mother Eagle laid an egg (DC4) on February 19, 2017, at 6:24pm EST. It was exciting to watch her in labor and lay the first egg of this mating season.

These magnificent birds became My Pet Eagles last year when I heard on the news that the American Eagle Foundation (AEF-DC) announced the hatching of last year’s eaglets DC2 (egg #1) and DC3 (egg#2) of the 2016 Mating Season.

BACKGROUND

In 2014, this Eagle couple selected their nesting home in DC’S National Arboretum located on New York Ave, NE, 100ft high inside of a Tulip Poplar Tree. Eagles mate for life. My Pet Eagles were named, Mr. President (Mr. P) and The First Lady (TFL).

In 2015, Mr. P. and TFL, laid, hatched, and raised their first Eagle (DC1). With the help of the US Department of Agriculture and other government and corporate sponsors, TEAM AEF-DC was organized to create and manage an interactive website complete with two cameras that provided 24-hour CAM service that allows people like you and me from all over the world, to use this amazing technology to watch and learn about the American Bald Eagle.

In 2016, they became My Pet Eagles when they laid, hatched, and raised two eagles (DC2 and DC3) that later were named Liberty and Freedom.

This couple are perfect examples of what and how a monogamous relationship should be and a prime example of how a committed relationship can exist. They mate often. They love each other. They share duties in managing and keeping the nest. They hunt together and eat together. They take turns rearing their young; while one parent sits in the nest, the other one is out hunting and bringing food to the nest.

Once mated, they lay eggs around the same time each year. My Pet Eagles lay their eggs mid-February. The hatching begins mid-March. Once hatched, these two magnificent birds will instinctively take on the awesome tasks of feeding, discipline, teaching, and preparing their babies to leave the nest and start a life of their own.

The American Eagle Foundation team performs educational services for people like me to learn all about the Eagles and their behaviors. The AEF NEST CAMS are strategically in place around the nest complete with sound activated with infrared night vision for our viewing pleasure 24-hours; 7 days a week.

The parenting activities started tonight (2/19/2017) and will end sometime around mid-July when the baby (eaglets) take flight to leave the nesting place they knew as home where Mommie and Daddy provided three meals a day, warmth, safety, and the training they needed to live a self-sustaining life.

I am not an educator. I am not a professional at “Eagleology”! I am a citizen caught up in the excitement surrounding these awesome creatures and I want share them with you in hopes that not only will you learn, but that you will share with your friends and family. I consider these two wonderful birds as My Pet Eagles. The work done by the AEF-DC TEAM makes my virtual experience easy and exciting.

The first egg of the 2017 mating season was laid Sunday, February 19, 2017, the eve of President’s Day, at 6:24pm, EST, caught live on camera. Monday, February 20, 2017, (President’s Day) Daddy Eagle will start his duties of providing food and protection for his wife and their new family.

Protecting Home – Mr.P selected and built his nest in 2014. He and The First Lady have laid four eggs, so far, they have hatched three eggs, and have raised three eaglets. They have been preparing the nest for the next set of eaglets. Imagine you and your spouse are away from home for a few hours and the husband returns home only to find out that an intruder had entered your home, ate your food, and started rearranging the furniture. That is what happened when a sub-adult Eagle squatted in their nest. This video is 13-minutes long. When the intruder fails to heed Mr. P’s alerting sqauks to leave his nest, at about 9-minutes into this video, Mr. P flys into the nest to stare down the intruder. At the point that the intruder realizes that it is in the wrong place and decides to leave, Mr.P did a 360 drive-by and knocked the intruder out of the nest. At 11-minutes into the video, watch as the AEF-DC video master, replays Mr P’s swift attack in Super Slow Motion. That bird will not intrude that nest ever again! Mr. P is truly a protector. Thanks “birdbrain56” of AEF-DC YouTube.

Lessons Learned – Mr. P shows how much he’s learned about protecting his home, food, and family. I love this video. The couple is expecting. During the day, The First Lady spends time flying and perching in different trees. She watches her husband (Mr. P) as he hunts, bring large tree limbs into the nest to create a taller wall around the nest and to strengthen the border. The First Lady must eat more because she is expecting. This means that Mr. P is pulling double duty. He working on the nest, hunting for two plus providing prenatal care needs, and protecting his wife and his nest. (emphasis on story to give you an idea from my perspective of watching these two magnificent birds so closely over 24 months. Their behaviors and activities are instinctive and are worth monitoring and studying.) Watch this video closely. Mr. P brings enough fish for him and The First Lady to eat together. Once they enjoy the high protein meal, Mr. P starts to clean up the nest and rearrange the borders of the nest. The First Lady flies away for an appointment (emphasis on story about this couple to make watching these birds more interesting and fun). Thinking that The First Lady ought to have returned from her appointments, Mr. P returns to this nest with a freshly caught fowl. This fowl provides the nutritional supplements she needs to raise the iron, fat, and sodium she needs as an expectant mother that is close to delivery. But she’s not there. He looks for her. He is in the kitchen. He starts to prepare the meal by plucking the feathers. Rich blood from the fowl is everywhere. He decides to taste the dinner that he prepared for his wife. (THIS IS WHERE MR.P SHOWS US THE LESSON HE LEARNED FROM THE INTRUDER.) Once Mr. P realizes that The First Lady is not coming back anytime soon, he decides to go looking for her because he brought home and prepared a special meal for her and his unborn child. Watch what he does with the fowl. Instead of leaving it there like he did when he left the fish for her a few days ago that the intruder found and ate, this time he takes the specially prepared meal with him! The video is fast forwarded to show Mr. P and First Lady returning to the nest together. Amazingly, Mr. P still has the fowl that he prepared for her earlier with him as they land on the nest. He proudly presents the special meal to his wife. He flies away once he sees that she is safe and is eating. She starts eating and enjoying this tasty meal that her husband hunted, prepared, and protected just for her. This video is so important – because it shows how these two prove that the love, the marriage, and the commitment to parenting is real between them! Simply Awesome! What a lesson learned!

The First Lady lays the first egg of the 2017 mating season, February 19, 2017, at 6:24pm. Watch this closely. The First Lady goes into labor, Mr. P comes to her aid. He tucks her in, pats down the nest, and makes sure she’s ok. He flies to the overhead branch to protect her during her labor pains, which makes her vulnerable. Listen to her gasp and groan. Watch the feathers expand on her back during the labor of laying the egg. This eaglet will be called DC4 when hatched because this is the 4th egg this couple has laid. What an awesome experience.

To learn more about this couple, go to http://dceaglecam.org . There are two CAMs that you can switch between. Not only can you hear all of the natural sounds of the nest, you can hear street noises, sirens of first responders, and low hovering air traffic.

Please sign up for CHAT classes. Like their Facebook Page. Follow them on Twitter @dceaglecam Search YouTube for “DC Eagle CAM”

Please share with young children, the sick and shut-in, teachers, and people battling depression or with someone who need something positive to cling to. Do what I did when I got sick and need something external to uplift me…make these intelligent grand birds My Pet Eagles.

It will take 30-days for the egg(s) to hatch. Once they do, the activity in that nest will be so educational and so fun that I promise you; you will want others to know and learn what you are experiencing.

Get connected. This couple could have more than one egg. Be on the lookout for DC5 or maybe, DC6. REMEMBER THIS IS A WILD NEST. Anything could happen.

My purpose is to share with you so that you will share with others.

Content, pictures, and videos copyright of American Eagle Foundation. Thanks “birdbrain56” of YouTube for the great work you do with the AEF-DC videos. I am working to bring about awareness about the Eagles and to drive traffic to the social media and web sites to support the American Eagle Foundation.

Thursday, February 23, 2017, at 4:19pm, The First Lady went into labor, and at 4:24pm, she laid egg #2. Welcome DC5! As of the writing of this update, Mr. P had not seen his second egg. He will when he brings breakfast. After breakfast, Mr. P will give The First Lady a break and let her fly around as to get exercise. They will work together to hatch their eggs. DC4 will hatch first then days later DC5 will hatch. It is amazing to watch this husband and wife team work together so instinctively to:

Protect and maintain their nesting home,

Take care of their eggs,

Provide for their hatched eaglets,

Raise their hatched eaglets (the discipline is perfect family teaching),

Feed, love, and respect each other, and

Mate for life by repeating all the activities of the mating seasons until they die!

If only we humans understood the kind of love and respect that naturally keep the “until death do us part” commitment seriously.

I already had respect for why America selected the Bald Eagle as its PATRIOTIC Bird; however being exposed to the awesome knowledge and teachings of the AEF-DC Team and watching these birds real time, interact, and survive in the wild takes monogamy to a level times ten. I love My Pet Eagles.

My Pet Eagles: Mr. President brings The First Lady a mhttpid-day snack, which she takes a break from incubating her two eggs to eat quickly. 2Mar2017 (Copyright The American Eagle Foundation)

My Pet Eagles: Mr. P (Daddy Eagle sits above his wife (Mother Eagle) The First Lady, while she incubated their two eggs. (Copyright The American Eagle Foundation)

Do you want to know how My Pet Eagles faired during Winter Storm #Stella?